Anti-theft automotive door lock accessory

ABSTRACT

An elongate replacement handle that includes a cylindrical portion having first and second ends, with a tapped cavity extending longitudinally into the cylindrical portion from the first end thereof, and the second end developing into a head of enlarged transverse cross-section that has a tapered external surface. The original lock handle provided on an automotive vehicle is removed and the replacement handle above-identified substituted in its stead. Prior to the replacement handle being secured to the rod that actuates the lock on the door of an automotive vehicle, an elongate semi-elliptical body, is secured to the door side, which body has a downwardly tapering recess therein that develops into a transverse bore. The replacement handle is extended through the cavity and bore and the tapped cavity caused to engage the threaded end of the lock actuating rod. The head, when the lock is in the locked position, has the major portion thereof disposed in the recess, a sufficient portion of the head project from the recess, or may be contacted by the thumb and fore finger due to grooves in the body, as to permit the replacement handle and rod secured thereto to be moved upwardly to place the lock with which the rod is associated in an unlocked position. Due to the configuration of the recess in the body, the head when in a downward door locking position cannot be engaged by a wire manipulated by a person outside the vehicle to obtain unauthorized entry into the vehicle.

United States Patent 1191 Richman et al.

14 1 Oct. 28, 1975 I ANTI-THEFT AUTOMOTIVE DOOR LOCK ACCESSORY [76] Inventors: Bert B. Richman; Harvey Appell,

both of 3208 Dos Palos Drive, Los' Angeles, Calif. 90068 [22] Filed: Dec. 30, 1974 [2l] Appl. No.: 537,457

[52] US. Cl. 292/1; 70/181; 292/347 [51] Int. Cl. EOSC 19/00 [58] Field of Search 292/1, 347, 336.7, DIG 2,

292/DIG. 37; 70/181, 207, 200

Primary Examiner-Robert L. Wolfe 57 ABSTRACT An elongate replacement handle that includes a cylindrical portion having first and second ends, with a tapped cavity extending longitudinally into the cylindrical portion from the first end thereof, and the second end developing into a head of enlarged transverse cross-section that has a tapered external surface. The original lock handle provided on an automotive vehicle is removed and the replacement handle aboveidentified substituted in its stead. Prior to the replacement handle being secured to the rod that actuates the lock on the door of an automotive vehicle, an elongate semi-elliptical body, is secured to the door side, which body has a downwardly tapering recess therein that develops into a transverse bore. The replacement handle is extended through the cavity and bore and the tapped cavity caused to engage the threaded end of the lock actuating rod. The head, when the lock is in the locked position, has the major portion thereof disposed in the recess, a sufficient portion of the head project from the recess, or may be contacted by the thumb and fore finger due to grooves in the body, as to permit the replacement handle and rod secured thereto to be moved upwardly to place the lock with which the rod is associated in an unlocked position. Due to the configuration of the recess in the body, the head when in a downward door locking position cannot be engaged by a wire manipulated by a person outside the vehicle to obtain unauthorized entry into the vehicle.

6 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures US. Patent Oct. 28, 1975 ANTI-THEFT AUTOMOTIVE DOOR LOCK ACCESSORY BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention Anti-theft automotive door lock assembly.

2. Description of the Prior Art The lock on a door of a present day automotive vehicle is actuated by a rod that extends upwardly therefrom, with the upper end of the rod being threaded and engaged by a generally cylindrical handle. The handle extends upwardly through an opening in the sill that forms a part of the automobile door.

A lock of the above-identified type is easy and convenient for a driver or passenger to use when inside the vehicle, but the lock has the operational disadvantage that it may be unlocked by a person outside the vehicle engaging the handle with a piece of bent wire and lifting the handle upwardly. The lifting of the handle upwardly by a piece of wire from outside the vehicle is possible unless the glass in the door is occupying the uppermost position in the door. Normally, a parked vehicle will have at least one glass in a door disposed slightly down from its uppermost position to allow at least some air ventilation in the interior of the vehicle.

A major object of the present invention is to provide an accessory that may be used to so modify the lock on an automotive vehicle that it is impossible for a person to gain unauthorized entry into a vehicle by a bent wire that is used to engage the vertically movable actuating handle of the door.

Another object of the invention is to supply an antitheft door lock accessory that is simple and easy to install, is attractive in appearance, can be fabricated from standard commercially available materials, and may be retailed at a sufficiently low price as to encourage the widespread use thereof.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An anti-theft door lock assembly for automotive vehicles that includes a replacement handle that is substituted for the handle that was original equipment on the vehicle. Prior to the replacement handle that forms a part of the invention being mounted on the upper end of the rod that actuates the lock, an elongate body is v mounted on the sill of the door of the vehicle.

The body has a vertically extending recess therein that tapers downwardly and inwardly and merges into a bore in the body. The replacement handle is extended downwardly through the recess and bore and caused to engage the rod that actuates the lock. The replacement handle includes an elongate cylindrical portion that on the upper end develops into an enlarged head that has the major portion thereof disposed in the recess when the replacement handle is in a door locking position. The replacement handle when so disposed may be engaged between the thumb and fore finger of a user to the extent that the replacement handle may be moved upwardly, but with the replacement handle being so protected by the body that the handle cannot be engaged by a bent wire to gain unauthorized entry into a vehicle.

Should it be desired, the body may be so shaped as to cooperate with the original vertically movable handle on a vehicle to prevent the original handle from being engaged by a bent wire and moved upwardly.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the protective body that is used with either a replacement lock handle, or the original handle of an automotive vehicle if the original handle is of an shape and can be used with the body;

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the protective body mounted on the sill of the door of an automotive vehicle, and with the lock actuating handle in a raised position;

FIG. 3 is the same view as shown in FIG. 2, but with the handle in a lowered position and so situated in the protective body that it cannot be engaged by a bent wire;

FIG. 4 is a transverse cross sectional view of the protective body with the handle in a lowered position;

FIG. 5 is the same view shown in FIG. 4 but with the handle in a raised position;

FIG. 6 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a first modified form of protective body with the handle in an elevated position; and

FIG. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary cross-sectional view of the portion of the body within the oval defined by phantom line in FIG. 3.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT In FIG. 1 a protective body A is shown that is preferably elongate and generally semi-ellipsoidal in shape. The body A has a generally flat longitudinally extending lower surface 10. Body A is illustrated as having a longitudinal flattened area 12 on the upper portion thereof.

Body A intermediate the ends thereof has a transversely positioned cavity 13 extending upwardly therein from the surface 10. Body A also has a downwardly and inwardly tapering recess 14 therein that is axially aligned with cavity 13. Cavity 13 and recess 14 are in communication, and on their inner ends are joined by a passage 15.

The sill B on the door of an automotive vehicle (not shown) has an opening 20 therein through which an end of a rod 22 extends that has threads 24 formed thereon. The rod 22 by vertical movement is used to actuate a lock (not shown) on the door of an automotive vehicle. The open space above sill B in the door may be closed by a movable pane of glass (not shown).

The protective body A is used with a handle C, which handle includes an elongate cylindrical portion 26 and a head 28. The head 28 is of circular transverse crosssection, and is defined by an upwardly convex surface 28a, a downwardly convex surface 28b, and an intermediate cylindrical surface 280 situated between surfaces 28a and 28b. Surfaces 28b and 28c are of such size as to substantially positioned within the recess 14 when the handle C is in the down position as illustrated in FIG. 3. The longitudinal side edges 14a of recess 14 are concave as shown in FIG. 11, and permit the surface 28C of handle C to be engaged between the thumb and forefinger of a user (not shown) when the handle C is in a lowered locking position as illustrated in FIG. 3. When the handle C is so engaged, the handle may be raised to an elevated position as shown in FIG. 2. The surface 280 is preferably knurled to prevent slipping when engaged by the thumb and forefinger.

The handle C if of an appropriate shape may be the original handle supplied on the vehicle. If the handle originally supplied on the vehicle is not of an appropriate sahpe, the handle C will be a replacement therefor. Irrespective of whether the handle C is original equipment or a replacement, the portion 26 will have an upwardly extending, internally threaded cavity 32 therein that engages the threads 24 to secure the handle to rod 22.

Body A has the flat surface thereof adhered to the sill B by pressure sensitive adhesive means D. The pressure sensitive means D may be a film thereof, or a strip of material that is coated with first and second films 34a and 34b on opposite sides thereof as shown in FIG. 7. First film 34a adheres strip 34 to side 10 of body A, and second film 34b to sill 10.

A modified form of the body A is shown in FIG. 6 that is longitudinally truncated, and is identical to the first form A, other than that it is of shorter length and has a fiat transverse end surface 36. Modified form A is used on sills B where space is limited.

Due to the upward and inward tapered configuration of cavity 13, the rod 22 may be off centered relative to the cavity, with the cylindrical portion 26 of handle C being vertically movable relative to body A without binding as a result thereof.

The installation and use of the protective bodies A and A has been explained previously in detail and need not be repeated. The bodies A and A have been explained previously in detail and need not be repeated. The bodies A and A may be fabricated from polymerized resins, aluminum, magnesium and the like.

We claim:

1. In combination with an automotive vehicle having a door that contains a lock that is actuated by an upwardly extending rod having a free threaded end that is coaxially aligned with an opening in a horizontal sill located intermediate the top and bottom of said door, with the opening above said sill being closable by a pane of glass vertically movable in said door, an antitheft assembly that permits said rod to be selectively moved by an occupant in said vehicle but prevents said rod from being actuated from the exterior of said vehicle by a wire or the like when said pane does not fully close said opening to obtain unauthorized entry into said vehicle, said anti-theft assembly including:

a. an elongate body that has first and second ends and a substantially flat longitudinal first surface, said body intermediate said first and second ends having a recess therein that is defined by a circular side wall that extends towards said first surface and tapers inwardly, and said recess at the end thereof of smallest transverse cross-section merging into a passage that develops on the lower end thereof into a downwardly and outwardly extending cavity;

b. first means that rigidly secures said body to said sill with said recess and bore coaxially aligned with said opening in said sill; and

c. a handle that includes a cylindrical member having first and second ends and of such transverse crosssection as to be slidable in said passage, said member including a tapped cavity that extends up wardly therein from said first end thereof, said tapped cavity engaging said free threaded end of said rod, and a head of enlarged transverse crosssection that extends outwardly from said second end of said rod, said head of such shape that the major portion thereof may be disposed in said recess when said handle is in a downward door locking position, but said head being engageable by a thumb and forefinger of an occupant due to oppositely disposed downwardly curved edges formed in the portion of said body that define said recess to permit an occupant to raise said handle and rod to a door unlocking position.

2. An anti-theft assembly as defined in claim 1 in which said first means is a layer of pressure sensitive adhesive secured to said flat surface to said sill.

3. An anti-theft assembly as defined in claim 1 in which said handle is a replacement for the handle included as original equipment on said vehicle.

4. An anti-theft assembly as defined in claim 1 in which said body is generally semi-ellipsoidal in shape.

5. An anti-theft assembly as defined in claim 1 in which said body is generally semi-ellipsoidal in shape and is truncated between said recess and first end to permit said body to be mounted on said sill in a confined area.

6. An anti-theft assembly as defined in claim 1 in which said head has a cylindrical intermediate portion form which first and second upwardly and downwardly convex surfaces extend. 

1. In combination with an automotive vehicle having a door that contains a lock that is actuated by an upwardly extending rod having a free threaded end that is coaxially aligned with an opening in a horizontal sill located intermediate the top and bottom of said door, with the opening above said sill being closable by a pane of glass vertically movable in said door, an anti-theft assembly that permits said rod to be selectively moved by an occupant in said vehicle but prevents said rod from being actuated from the exterior of said vehicle by a wire or the like when said pane does not fully close said opening to obtain unauthorized entry into said vehicle, said anti-theft assembly including: a. an elongate body that has first and second ends and a substantially flat longitudinal first surface, said body intermediate said first and second ends having a recess therein that is defined by a circular side wall that extends towards said first surface and tapers inwardly, and said recess at the end thereof of smallest transverse cross-section merging into a passage that develops on the lower end thereof into a downwardly and outwardly extending cavity; b. first means that rigidly secures said body to said sill with said recess and bore coaxially aligned with said opening in said sill; and c. a handle that includes a cylindrical member having first and second ends and of such transverse crosssection as to be slidable in said passage, said member including a tapped cavity that extends upwardly therein from said first end thereof, said tapped cavity engaging said free threaded end of said rod, and a head of enlarged transverse cross-section that extends outwardly from said second end of said rod, said head of such shape that the major portion thereof may be disposed in said recess when said handle is in a downward door lockIng position, but said head being engageable by a thumb and forefinger of an occupant due to oppositely disposed downwardly curved edges formed in the portion of said body that define said recess to permit an occupant to raise said handle and rod to a door unlocking position.
 2. An anti-theft assembly as defined in claim 1 in which said first means is a layer of pressure sensitive adhesive secured to said flat surface to said sill.
 3. An anti-theft assembly as defined in claim 1 in which said handle is a replacement for the handle included as original equipment on said vehicle.
 4. An anti-theft assembly as defined in claim 1 in which said body is generally semi-ellipsoidal in shape.
 5. An anti-theft assembly as defined in claim 1 in which said body is generally semi-ellipsoidal in shape and is truncated between said recess and first end to permit said body to be mounted on said sill in a confined area.
 6. An anti-theft assembly as defined in claim 1 in which said head has a cylindrical intermediate portion form which first and second upwardly and downwardly convex surfaces extend. 